Feminism Rejection by Aboriginal Women in Canada Essay

Introduction

Aboriginal woman particularly those in Canada have argued on the issues of feminism in evolving their struggles for a long time. Feminism has therefore been an umbrella work which has been used for practical and theoretical paradigms which associate the topic of gender equality with the subject of sovereignty and decolonization of the indigenous population. This has made it be a feminist theory which is associated with feminist theory but rejecting exploitation and oppression threads which extend via mainstream as well as western feminism which can be defined as the as an activist movement linked with political, economic, and cultural dimensions. The primary aim of feminism is to preserve customary indigenist of sovereignty, self-determination, and status (Kuokkanen, 2012). Some aboriginal women contend that colonization presented patriarchy in their community and hence their indigenous culture provides more equitable models as well as any alternatives to handle sexism where both political and cultural imperialism should be connected. Conversely, others such as the western feminist claim that feminism in its form is a colonizing push and force to establish options which are centered on indigenous values and identities. In relation to this view, one researcher explained that she held that managing women from different parts of the globe against the issue of gender inequality under universal sisterhood banner both erase and reduces political, economic, and social differences existing between various positions women which in turn reinforces women's marginalization. Therefore, when critical viewed from both the views of Aboriginal women and western feminist view, one may get significant insight on why Aboriginal women in Canada may reject feminism.

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The views of Aboriginal Women on Feminism

Aboriginal women in Canada have for a long time witnessed inequality both economically and social life. There has been a widespread strong anti-family and anti-natal stance which has limited the chances of women showcasing their abilities. The Aboriginal women consider feminism as an offensive movement since they perceive it limits their competitiveness in the job market as well as the political arena. They are of the view that all the women are equal and hence should be given a uniform platform to make an impact in their societies. The Aboriginal women view that given the time and chance women can produce a similar output in the field dominated by males. Therefore, their view on feminism is centered on unequal treatment which they take the form of modern colonization which is a vice that significantly affected the political and economy of Canada (Halseth, 2013).

Aboriginal women also view feminism as embracing it may result in abandoning a significant part of their culture. Their view shows that there is a conflict in the domestic responsibilities between a man and women (Halseth, 2013). Thus, Aboriginal women argue that empowering women may lead to misunderstanding between the role of men and women in the family life. For instance, such conflict may result in lack of parentage to the kids when their mothers decide to be the breadwinner. Therefore, the end result may be the rising of kids who never understand what is expected of them.

The Western Feminist View

What the westerns view on feminism is that that they choose to be identified with a humanism that they think is a values system instead of feminism that they perceive as political. This is because according to westerns the fight for justice, legal rights, and compassion are not distinct from feminism. They see no values and standards which they can espouse as individuals who support humanist which are anti-female. However, they are various feminism values which are unknown to them, for instance, the idea that equality is significant compared to choice and opportunity. Among the most prominent western feminist, Albrechtsen et al. (2015), stated in their report that rejecting the word feminist may be viewed as a politically centered decision. They argue that feminism is discriminatory in its form because it views women as a sub-group. Therefore, in its appearance in the public discourse is through the wider disagreement of politics which is the insidious concept of diminishing people to groups. They claim that feminism used to be a movement of profound significance which was safeguarding the evolvement of the women natural rights. Nonetheless, contemporary feminism incarnation is a concoction of values of socialist.

According to Albrechtsen et al. (2015), Senator Michaelia Cash, who takes the position in the minister for women as the assistance prime minister stated in relation to feminism that he has never supported or had any connection with the feminist movement. This is because the movement is a set of concepts which emerged many years ago and since people are in the present, they can celebrate the past triumphs while avoiding to introduce them to the current ideology. Therefore, Cash with another western feminist claim that regardless of the evident political connotation, feminism has been a safety cloak for individuals who participate in public life.

Why Feminism Might Not be Relevant to Aboriginal Women

Feminism is an influence of the western culture and adoption of it means that the Rich Canadian culture demands to be eradicated. Initially, according to Aboriginal women, feminism culture had the advantage of increasing peace in the society. The women initially were family-centered where they took the responsibility of bringing up the kids .This was important as it ensured there was continuity of the primary role women took in the community. However, after its introduction, feminism has led resulted in adverse effect which makes it irrelevant for aboriginal women to support it (Halseth, 2013). For instance, women refusing to give birth or take special care to their kids which has led to depopulation. In the long run, Aboriginal women believe that feminism will become a threat to the mankind. It will see the extinction of the human being as there is no replacement for the dying human beings.

Aboriginal women note that advocating for feminism increases the gender discrimination gap in the society (Halseth, 2013). Most women may feel insecure where they view male gender as having too little value towards them. The result is the creation of a disintegrated society where there is no unity between the men and women. The lack of trust and cohesion, in the long run, will result to recession in the society. There will be a fall in the output where one party may fail to offer 100% devotion due to the perception. Aboriginal women additionally view feminism as having a negative effect on their social life. This is because adoption of the equal rights between the women and men will result into increase in domestic chaos out of various misunderstanding. The result is that the divorce rate and mortality rate will be on rising (Halseth, 2013). The result will be instability in internal security which in the long term will affect the economic growth of the given community. The numerous conflicts will discourage the investors. The Government operation cost will rise as more resources will be geared towards creating awareness, treatment and rehabilitating the chaotic families.

Aboriginal women also view feminism as an incentive to crime in the society. According to Aboriginal women, men have become a target of feminism where injustices have been committed to them with the mindset that they have practices feminism. Any negative thought of women towards treatment by men have resulted in a legal proceeding of men against feminism. The result is the development of fear in men, which have affected the role of men in the society wherein the modern times they are not willing to associate with feminism. The value of the traditional men has been downgraded which have resulted in irresponsible men. This has affected the bringing up of children and family life relationship. Social there is the creation of a new generation of half-baked men who cannot be able to play the role of men as breadwinners in the society. The main target of feminism is industrial sectors where they advocacy of equal treatment in of all genders have resulted in the recruitment of unqualified person to performs such activities as manual work (Halseth, 2013). The result is there has been an increase in the operating cost. There is an imbalance between the job output and input. It has resulted in the firms incurring huge losses .In addition, the wage bill has been on the rise where the company is required to pay their workers equality. Equal treatment of all the workers in salaries and other operation has reduced the profit margin .The move to practice feminism may result in a reduction in the profit margin.

Aboriginal women argue that feminism is against most of the religious teaching .According to the Christian and Muslim teaching, the women should be submissive to men. The women should honor and help the husband at any time. The religious teaching considers women as home builders and has the responsibility to take care of the kids and the husband (McKay, 2005). On that note, any contrary opinion would be considered wrong .the religious teaching thus has resulted in fierce opposition among the religious Aboriginal women. Feminism movement has resulted in a greater confusion between the sexes. There has been the creation of a person who observes the sexes more than their instincts. The fear of association with feminism has resulted in men reducing their contacts with the female counterparts. The result has been a lack of integration of the men and women in both social place and working place (Halseth, 2013). There is always the fear of accusations among the men for downgrading women .The result is that there has been a reduction in the accuracy level at the workplace. The women never pay special attention to details as they have the upper hand wherever a dispute occurs. They can always argue based on the feminism. This has acted to depower the management of the organization.

Critiques Made About Feminism by Aboriginal Activists

There are abnormal activists who consciously evade being identified under the term feminism as an approach to differentiate their commitments to national and community goals (Phillips, 2012). In their comprehension, the idea of feminism has meaning attached to racial and colonialism privileging which do not significantly show their political interests and positions. Thus, the aboriginal women provide some critics about feminism which reveals various positions which have emerged amongst them as well as the specific point where they stand according to this terminology. The key criticisms by aboriginal women against feminism are partitioned into both the initial and the second feminist wave. The initial wave is focused on the fact that the aboriginal women were excluded from acquiring the votes which occurred particularly in most parts of North America, It is also charged with acts of racisms which arouse from maternal feminism, for example, the racism act which shows a Canadian suffragette known as Nellie McClung initiating an attack on the reproduction of aboriginal women (Phillips, 2012). Additionally, the second wave is criticized by the Aboriginal women due to feminism universal oppression of the gender which occurred under the sisterhood terminology. This is where aboriginal women thought that feminism was broadly reflecting the agenda of white women while carrying unity centered on the common gender oppression. This demonstrated liberation of particular kinds of women rather than all women including the native women. Additionally, aboriginal women criticize feminism due to its historical tendency...